Next morning with dl_greenarrow.

[chloesullivan]

[After unexpected visitor]

Chloe hadn't said much the previous night, her head still spinning from... whatever that had been, she had been hoping she would wake up today and it would have just been a dream but Ollie was still in bed with her, his arm wrapped tightly around her, which meant he was worried about her.

Sighing softly, she turned her head slightly to look at him, she still felt disoriented and she still couldn't explain what had happened, which was why she had to try and find some kind of explanation as soon as possible.

Comments

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He was definitely worried about her. He had texted Clark the night before and asked him to come pick up Conner so he could try and figure out what had happened, but he hadn't been able to get her to open up much the previous night. He'd called his secretary early this morning and informed her he wouldn't be in at all today, and he'd slipped back into bed with her, holding her close, protectively.

Feeling her shift, he turned his head to look at her. "Morning," he whispered.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

She looked over at him and nodded a little, snuggling closer before laying her head back down, "you didn't have to stay," she whispered quietly, even though she was glad he had because to say she was freaked out didn't even begin to cover it.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

"Yes, I did," he whispered back, pressing a kiss to her temple and beginning to stroke her hair.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Is Conner up?" She asked quietly, closing her eyes again, her chest tightening a little.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

"Clark came and got him last night," he said quietly, resting his head against hers.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Oh," she whispered, closing her eyes and leaning closer to him, "okay."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He pulled her as close as he could, cradling her against him. "Can you talk about it?" he murmured.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"I don't know what to say," she whispered quietly, wrapping her arm around him and sighing softly, "it can't have been real, Ollie."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

Oliver held his breath at that, still stroking her hair. "Even after everything we've seen? You don't think it's possible?" His voice was soft, questioning, but not judgmental.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"How could it be?" She asked, looking up at him, her eyes wide and bright, "we both saw him."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

"I don't know," he admitted, cupping her cheek in one hand, stroking her skin with his thumb. "But I'm not ready to rule anything out at this point."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

She sighed softly and nodded, leaning into his touch, "I don't have security footage," she whispered, "the cameras were down when he came in because the system was rebooting."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, trying not to let his disappointment show at that news. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "What happened?" he whispered.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"I don't know," she said quietly, "he just... showed up, acting as if no time had passed at all, talking about how he knew that Clark was the blur and that we could be together now."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

Oliver swallowed hard as that sunk in. Part of him wondered if she had been hallucinating, if she was too stressed out. If she was having second thoughts about them.

"What did you say?" he murmured.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"I told him to leave, I told him he doesn't belong here, that he's not real," she murmured, looking up at him again.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

Oliver searched her eyes, his thumb still brushing lightly over her cheek. "And that's when he left?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"No," she took a deep breath, "the first time he left, when I called you, he told me he had picked up take out and that he had forgotten it in his car, so he was gonna go and get it."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He frowned a little at that. That would be an odd thing for her to have hallucinated.

"Hm."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"What?" She asked, watching him closely, her chest tight, her brain blank. She couldn't make sense of it, so she was hoping he could.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He turned to look at her once more. "It's an odd detail," he said softly, searching her eyes.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Chloe sighed softly and nodded slight, "he had bags from the Deli on fourth when he came back, talking about how he knew it was my favorite."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

Oliver frowned at that. "But it's...not," he murmured, his eyebrows furrowing.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Pursing her lips together she shook her head, "no, it was his," she admitted quietly.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He watched her for a moment, then kissed her forehead softly. "What else can you remember?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"I told him it had been two years and that he didn't belong there," she told him, clearing her throat, "he said he wasn't giving up on me and he left again."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

Oliver considered that for a long moment, keeping her close. "What's your gut telling you?" he whispered.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"That this isn't real," she breathed, "he touched my arm, he wasn't... he wasn't a ghost, but I can't understand how he could be back."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

Oliver was quiet for a few seconds, and then, "I'm going to give J'onn a call," he said softly.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Chloe stilled then blinked a couple of time, "J'onn?" She asked, "so he can read my mind?"

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

"Well...actually I meant so he could go dust for fingerprints at Watchtower," he admitted, searching her eyes once more.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Oh," she nodded a little, holding his gaze, "but I don't think he touched anything besides me."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

At that, he sat up a little. "You said he brought in food from the deli."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Right," she nodded a little, taking a deep breath and rubbing her hand over her face, "and I guess he would have had to touch the elevator."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

Nodding, he pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'm gonna send him a text and have him check it out, okay? We'll figure this out."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Okay," she agreed with a soft sigh, that was more than she had been able to come up with.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

Oliver sent J'onn a quick text then set his phone down on the nightstand once more, shifting closer to her. "You hungry?" he asked quietly, laying a hand on her cheek.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

She shook her head slightly and tightened her arm around him once more, "what if he's real, Ollie?"

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He was silent for a moment, not sure how to answer. "Then we'll deal," he said softly, tucking some hair behind her ear.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

She sighed, leaning into his touch and nodding slightly "okay."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

"I love you," he whispered. "No matter what's going on. Nothing's going to change that."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Her arm tightened around him and she swallowed hard, watching him closely and sighing deeply, "what if he's not real?" At the moment, she wasn't sure which option was worse.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "We'll just take it one step at a time," he murmured, rubbing her back gently. "We'll figure it out the way we always do."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Sighing softly, she closed her eyes again and nodded, hugging him tightly and hiding her face against his neck, "I love you."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

"I love you, too," he whispered, cupping the back of her neck gently. "So much."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Her arms tightened even more around him as she shifted on the bed, "don't let me leave," she whispered, lifting her head to look at him once more, "if I turn out to be like her, don't let me leave."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

His chest tightened at her soft plea and he met her eyes. "I won't," he promised, brushing his thumb over her cheek. "I won't let you leave."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Swallowing hard, she held his gaze and nodded a little, letting out a breath and looking down. She knew how hard it had been on her and her dad when her mom left, she would never want to put Ollie and Conner through that, so she needed to make sure he knew about it, in case she wasn't in full control of her actions.